Climate

Climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing our planet. The implications of climate change for our planet are wide-ranging with potential impacts on biodiversity, water resources and public health. The potential effects of climate change on people, communities and ecosystems demand immediate action.

At Greif, we are committed to reducing the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) our system emits into the atmosphere and we continue to work toward our goals of reducing GHG-related impacts from our operations. In 2008, we began tracking our GHG emissions and performed life cycle assessments (LCAs) for our products to identify GHG emissions across our value chain and to determine the associated risks and opportunities. We work both to improve energy efficiency within our facilities and with customers to address climate change.

Goal

2014 - 2020 Goal: Reduce GHG emissions per unit of production by 10 percent over a fiscal year 2014 baseline by the end of fiscal year 2020.

Progress

By the end of 2015, we not only achieved by exceeded our 2015 climate goal, a 15 percent reduction of GHG emissions per unit of production, by reducing our GHG emissions per unit of production by 19 percent. In 2016, we made progress towards achieving our 2020 goal and reduced our GHG emissions by two percent from a 2014 baseline. For more detailed information about our emissions and performance metrics please see our 2016 Sustainability Report.

In 2014, we submitted our first Climate Change Report to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an international, non-profit organization providing a global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. Since 2014, Greif's CDP score has continued to increase.

Greif CDP Performance

A-

Greif's rating for environmental leadership, management and best pratices in our third year of reporting to the CDP. With an overall score of A-, Greif ourperformed the container and packaging industry with its leadership, governance and strategy, and environmental best practices. The container and packaging industry average CDP score is a C on a scale from A to F.

CDP awards the highest ranking of A/A- to companies that, in comparison to industry peers, demonstrate a high degree of transparency and governance in environmental management and a thorough understanding of risks and opportunities related to climate change. Our performance is recognition of our commitment to reduce our environmental impact and communicate proactively to our customers and other stakeholders about our corporate activities.

Transportation

As a leader in industrial packaging, transportation within and outside our operations is a significant source of GHG emissions. Reducing our transportation-associated footprint is integrated into our business strategy and innovation process. Mapping and reducing our transportation footprint has led us to partner with an innovative program that addresses transportation-related impacts from product shipping. To improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our vehicle fleets, we joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership in 2009.

SmartWay is an organization administered by the U.S. government and designed to encourage businesses to manage logistics in an environmentally responsible way. Transportation organizations who join SmartWay aim to voluntarily achieve improved fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

In 2009, Greif received the SmartWay certification by developing a plan to achieve measurable improvements including converting from truck to rail when feasible, implementing a no-idling policy at plants, installing aerodynamic retrofits on trailers in California and leveraging our transport spend to use SmartWay-certified carriers.

By the end of 2016, Greif’s SmartWay-approved carrier base accounted for 71 percent of miles travelled. SmartWay certification continues to be part of our new carrier certification process.

Key figures

200

Sites in 40+ countries

Our global reach is near you

13,000

Employees

Our people — principled, intelligent and reliable — reaffirm our reputation for integrity every day with their every action

140

Years of experience

For the past 140 years, the world’s most important products have travelled around the world in Greif industrial packaging